Boulder panhandler issues resurface

Conflicts on Pearl Street Mall lead to a proposal for another task-force study

Boulder - The city is planning to examine anew what to do about panhandlers and loiterers along the Pearl Street Mall.

Shopkeepers and pedestrians have appealed for safety, while privacy advocates argue that everyone has a right to public space.

The City Council gave general approval Tuesday night to the city manager's plan to form a task force that will study the situation and make recommendations.

The mall, perhaps Boulder's best- known icon after the Flatirons, has long been the source of a culture clash because of its popularity among boutique shoppers and vagrants.

Just a few years ago, the city passed rules outlawing "aggressive" panhandling and panhandling within 10 feet of a store entrance.

But a scuffle on the mall that resulted in a store owner suffering a broken leg has brought the issue back to the City Council.

"The bottom line for me is safety," John Salvaggio, owner of Salvaggio's Deli on Pearl Street, said before the meeting.

"It's not safe, and it is turning this beautiful gem in Boulder into a ... dangerous place," he said.

Last month, Salvaggio confronted a man he saw kick someone in a wheelchair. But the man turned on Salvaggio, who broke his leg during the confrontation.

Salvaggio and others are hoping for at least a revamped policy on panhandling and increased security.

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George Karakehian, who owns Art Source International on Pearl Street, told the City Council that he regularly hears offensive language near areas where young children are playing.

"You would wonder why anyone would come back to Pearl Street if you heard some of this profanity," he said.

But Paul Angel, a 15-year resident who said he was homeless for a year, told the City Council to be careful about "unintended consequences."

"I'm concerned because every year when some merchants get concerned about problems on the mall, some people slide real fast from 'the problem is violent and rude behavior' to 'the problem is homeless people,"' he said.

Angel said the homeless are an essential part of the mall's character.

Boulder County American Civil Liberties Union chairman Judd Golden urged the council to review the work the city did the last time it looked at these problems.

"All these things have gone on in an ebb and flow for years," he said. "Please, revisit what was done three years ago before you decide to visit this again."